Mirror
by Alima8314
Summary: A story about Ed's feeling toward his real father, and Mustang's attempts to take on the fatherly role. Parental!Roy/Ed. Was posted in 'Random Ficlets.' I have the feeling I may continue with this story, so it gets its own place. Please review.
1. I Hate Mirrors

**-Mirror-**

**A/N:** Inspired by various Mirror/Ed fics, but mostly by Songfic Misstress' drabble, "Mirror."

Parental!Roy/Ed

--

"Fullmetal! What do you think you're doing?" Colonel Mustang demanded, rushing in to grab his subordinate's hands. He nearly slipped on the shards of silver that littered the sinks and floor.

Edward tried to shrug off the older man and continue his wanton destruction of the reflective glass. "Leave me alone!" he cried as he struggled against the older man's strong grip.

"Calm down," Mustang tightened his hold on the flailing youth, ignoring the sharp pains caused by strikes from the artificial limbs where they hit him in the teen's attempt to escape the restraining arms.

"Let me go! Leave me alone!" Edward wailed, still trying to free himself.

Mustang held the boy more securely and dragged him to his office, passing a bewildered Lieutenant Hawkeye on the way to the inner office, and threw him down onto the couch unceremoniously. He returned to the door, poking his head out for a moment. "Hawkeye, I need you to send someone to clean up the broken glass in the men's room down the hall."

"Sir?" the fair-haired woman looked up from her place at her desk, where she was currently looking over the day's work load.

"I need to take care of Fullmetal," he nodded to his loyal subordinate before ducking back into his office. He turned and glowered at the seething teenager, who was sitting with arms crossed petulantly. "He's been acting childishly."

"I'm not a child," the prodigy growled.

"Well, you certainly could have fooled me. I didn't realize adults went around randomly destroying government property," Mustang shot back as he closed the door.

"Spare me the sarcasm."

The raven-haired man sighed, moving swiftly to his desk and pulling out the bottom drawer. "Now, we need to do something about the damage you've done."

Edward knit his brow. "I thought you sent Hawkeye to clean it up."

"I meant your hand. You're bleeding all over my couch," the older man countered as he pulled out a first aid kit and brought it over to the couch, placing it between him and the youth as he sat down. He popped the box open and pulled out a pair of fine tweezers.

The blond teen glanced down at his hand and shrugged. "I've dealt with worse."

"I'm aware," Roy reached over and circled the thin wrist with his fingers, closing his fist more tightly when the teen tried to pull away. "Calm down, we need to take care of this so you don't end up with an infection."

"I never asked you to butt into my life like this," Edward spat.

Roy looked at Edward evenly. "Well, too bad. I'm here, and you're just going to have to deal with it. Now, quit being a baby and let me help you." His face softened into a gentle smile. "I know you're not a child, but you're not an adult quite yet, either, no matter how hard you try to be."

The younger alchemist brooded for a moment, as his commanding officer carefully cleaned his hand, using the tweezers to pull small slivers of glass from the abused flesh.

"Edward, really, you're going to have to pay for those mirrors," Roy gently chided the blond teenager. "Why did you feel the need to destroy all the mirrors anyway?"He poured a small amount of peroxide over the broken skin, recoiling slightly in sympathy as Edward turned his head away, wincing slightly at the sting as the peroxide bubbled in the small cuts on his hand.

"I have my reasons."

"It's going to come out of your funds, you know," the Flame Alchemist stated matter-of-factly.

"I know," Edward responded, his voice devoid of emotion.

After making sure all the shards were removed, Mustang tenderly blotted the pale bloody foam from Ed's knuckles. When he was satisfied with his work, he picked up the vial of antibiotic ointment and applied a liberal dose to each laceration. "I know you know, but do you care? Your laughter throughout the episode spoke volumes about your current state of mind."

The Fullmetal Alchemist could only glower at the older man.

The colonel ignored the murderous glance and continued. "I'm surprised. I wouldn't have expected you to let me help with this."

Edward huffed, "Yeah, well... Don't get too full of yourself, you stuck up bastard. I'm only here because I don't have the manual dexterity with my auto-mail to take care of this myself."

"I see, so you're not here because you want to be. And, you wouldn't be here at all if you hadn't shattered all that glass." Roy watched as Edward closed his eyes and took a few deeps breaths. "You want to talk about it?" he offered, wary of the teen's volatile temper.

The blond sighed heavily, watching as his commanding officer began wrapping his doctored hand. "The last time I saw him was a couple months ago, at my mother's grave. How could he just show up out of nowhere like that? He only stayed for a day before leaving again."

"Who, Ed?" Mustang inquired with a whisper. He had a sneaking suspicion who the youngster was talking about, but didn't want to push too hard. He knew that doing so might make the boy shut down.

"Hohenheim. I haven't spoken with my father since the day he left us again. I'm sixteen now, and I'm surprised I turned out as well as I have..."

Roy chuckled. "As well as you have, huh? From where I stand, you're nothing but a temperamental teenager who was forced to grow up too quickly," Roy stated as he wrapped the wounded hand with tape to keep the medicine and gauze on.

"That's too tight, dammit!" the blond jerked his hand away, glaring at the older man.

The dark-haired man carefully took the smaller hand back, loosening the tape. "Sorry." He resumed wrapping the childlike hand. "So, Ed, will you tell me now why you broke all the mirrors?"

Ed turned away again, his face glowing with a mix of anger, embarrassment and sorrow. "I hate mirrors. I see my father in them."


	2. It's Okay to Hate

**-Mirror 2-**

**A/N:** I was asked to write a sequel to _Mirror_. Here it is.

Parental!Roy/Ed

- - - - - -

Mustang returned to his seat as the opposite end of the couch from Edward. He had finished putting away his first aid kit after cleaning the glass shards from the teen's hand. About ten minutes earlier, Ed had decided to destroy all the mirrors in the men's restroom.

After the older man had finished doctoring his flesh hand, Edward sat sulking. His arms were crossed over his chest and his chin was resting on his collar. He felt the couch shift as Roy took a seat, and could sense the other man's intense gaze. He had already said too much when he answered the question presented to him moments before, when he was asked for his reason behind smashing the mirrors. He didn't want to be able to confide in Mustang, but the man had made it so easy. He hated men, thanks to his father, and wanted nothing more than to shift that feeling over to the next closest thing he had to a father figure. However, he knew it was true that Mustang had never gone out of his way to betray him, nor had he abandoned him. Considering all this, Edward decided that sometimes, it hurt less to hate people than to love them, which is why he always kept anyone who ever showed an interest in his well-being at arm's length.

The only exception to this self-imposed rule was his younger brother, Alphonse. All the same, there were times that he felt obligated to care for his younger sibling, since he was the one at fault for the state Alphonse lived in.

Unfortunately, keeping everyone at a distance meant he had no one to cling to during the times he felt hopelessly lost. Only Al fought his way through Ed's defenses, and every time he did, the blond prodigy was extremely grateful.

"Do you want to talk about it, Edward?" Roy questioned gently.

"No," Ed snapped.

"Why not?" the older alchemist pressed.

The blond turned on the older man. "You're forcing me to face myself, and I'm not ready to do that."

Mustang cleared his throat. "You're going to have to explain yourself soon enough, anyway."

"Shut up! I told you I'm not ready!" Edward bellowed.

"So," Roy started, "you don't want to face yourself. I can see the symbolism behind shattering the mirrors, in an almost literal sense."

Edward pressed his fists to his temples. "Stop it! Shut up! You make it sound so damn poetic!" he spat. "I'm just a stupid, angry teenager, so hurry up and lecture me so I can go."

"I'm not going to lecture you. Furthermore, I never want to hear you say that about yourself again. You're not stupid. You simply make bad decisions. However, it's not just you... Everyone makes mistakes. It proves you're human."

The teen sneered. "Shut up, Colonel. I'm sick of listening to you talk."

Roy smirked. "Well, you did ask to be lectured."

"Every time you open your mouth, you piss me off," Edward snarled.

The two alchemists sat on the couch. Roy was looking at Edward from the corner of his eye and Edward was glaring at the floor.

"So... Why exactly do you feel the way you do about your father, Ed?" Roy asked, breaking the tense silence.

Edward sighed, not wanting to have this conversation, but indulging Mustang nonetheless. In his mind, he chalked it up to 'Equivalent Exchange.' The colonel took care of him and Al, so Ed would do what he could, as insignificant as it may seem at the time, to pay the man back. "It's not just my father. I don't like most men."

"What about me?" Mustang asked softly. He could guess what the answer would be, but by Ed's posture, he knew the boy would be forcing the words from his mouth. He didn't flinch when the words finally came.

"I hate you, too, Colonel. And Hughes, and... and... everyone..."

"Why do you hate Hughes?" Roy asked, shocked that anyone would feel such negativity toward the doting father. Mäes had wanted nothing more than to show off his precious little princess to anyone who would listen to his prattle, and even those who refused. However, his life had been stolen from him in the middle of the night, and Roy still hunted for the murderer of his best friend. He wasn't sure he would do once he caught the party responsible, but he hoped he would be able to keep his wits about him when that day came. He was forced from his thoughts when Edward spoke next. It was one of the most innocent things he had ever heard the boy say.

"Because he left..."

Roy blinked. "That wasn't his fault... You can't really blame someone for dying on you. Do you blame your mother for dying?" he asked, playing the guilt card. He knew how Edward felt about the subject, and decided to tread on the dangerous ground anyway.

"She-she... She's different!" Edward bellowed, jumping to his feet.

"Because she's a woman?" Roy defended his verbal stance.

"That has nothing to do with it!" He shoved his hands in his pockets and started pacing.

The dark-haired man watched the boy stomp back and forth a few times before speaking. "I've seen you blow up at men who... make mention of your... ah... stature. Myself included. But, I've rarely seen you get mad at a woman who does the same thing," he pointed out.

"Like who?" Edward turned and glared at the older man.

"Hawkeye."

Edward blanched. "She has guns."

"Winry."

The blond chuckled. "I get mad at her. Especially when she hits me with a wrench. Stupid woman."

"What about your alchemy teacher?" Roy smirked. He didn't know the woman, but he'd Edward and Alphonse speak of her on occasion, and knew how much they feared and respected her.

"She scares the shit out of me! I would never, never blow up at her..."

"What about Al? He's part of 'everyone'... Do you hate him?"

Edward faltered, guilt etched on his features. "...S-sometimes..." he stammered.

"Why?"

"He should have been stronger... He had a bad feeling about that night, and... He was right... He should have stopped me..." Edward whined.

"Al loves you. He trusts you."

"I know... That's why he can never know that I hate him sometimes. I love him so much, it hurts, and I would do anything for him... My love outweighs my hate. Another thing about Al... He... We're always together, and yet, anytime anyone makes an asinine accusation about me, he always takes their side." The teen threw his hands in the air. "I don't know if he's joking or not, but it hurts... You know? Because we're always together, there's no way I could do half the things people accuse me of. Why can't he believe in me? I'm not going through all this suffering for fun, you know!"

"I know, Edward. Believe me, I know." The dark-haired man's voice was soft.

Edward looked over the older man, who still sat on the couch. He saw the pain shining in the other's eyes, and wondered what he was remembering. "Colonel?"

Roy sniffed. "It's nothing." He shook his head, turning his gaze to his young subordinate. "Just... seeing you like this reminded me of Mäes. But, let's not talk about that now. This is your time, and I'm here for you if you need me. Anything that happens in this office, stays in this office."

Edward scoffed. "Who says I need you?"

The colonel sighed. "Don't be so proud, kid. Crying is healthy," he wiped his eyes and held out his damp fingers for Ed to observe. "See? Even I cry sometimes..."

"This isn't about pride, Colonel. I think..." Edward paused. "I think I've forgotten how to cry..."

"Edward?"

"It's been so long since I last cried... My mother's funeral. But, I had a reason to cry... then. And, when I came up with the idea to bring her back... I was afraid. She left us alone, and that meant I had to take care of Al... I was scared... I was ten! I couldn't take care of Al by myself."

"The Rockbells were there! They could have helped you! I know it," Roy insisted.

"I just didn't want to be... alone... It's what... It's what I'm most afraid of," Edward choked out, tears welling in his eyes. "I was... SO SCARED!" he screamed, rounding on the colonel, who threw his arms around the boy and pulled him close.

"It's okay, Edward."

"No, it's not! I screwed up so many lives!" the blond sobbed into the thick blue fabric of Roy's jacket. "I couldn't go to Winry's house because it would have felt like I was replacing my mom!"

"What about that little girl? What was her name?"

"N-Nina..." Edward stuttered.

"I remember watching you sit in the rain, crying... because..."

"I don't want to talk about that!" the blond wiped his face on Roy's jacket.

The raven-haired man wrinkled his nose at the teen's action, but decided not to call him on it. The boy needed this emotional release, and he wasn't going to get in the way of something that was so desperately required. He wrapped his arms more firmly around the boy's shoulders and simply let him cry.

- - - - - -

"But Ed... We're brothers. It's okay to hate each other once in a while," Al whispered from where he stood outside the office door. He hadn't meant to overhear the things his brother had confessed to the colonel, but was glad he did. He couldn't blame Edward for how he felt, figuring it was simply Edward allowing himself to feel human emotions.

He backed away from the door, turning quietly. He made his way out of the office, holding up a silencing hand when Lieutenant Hawkeye stood from her seat. "Alpho-?"

"It's okay. Brother's... He'll be okay. I'll see him when he gets home tonight."

"Okay," the sharp shooter sat down again. "Well, have a good day, then."

"I will, thank you. You too, Lieutenant," Alphonse and exited the office.


End file.
